Atalanta are not top of Serie A. That may not sound like an especially remarkable statement to make of a newly promoted side with a modest wage bill, until you consider one thing: this season they have had better results than anybody else. A return of 10 points from their opening four games would have been enough to place the Bergamaschi alone atop the Italian football pyramid for the first time in 47 years, were it not for the fact they started the season with -6.

Implicated with 17 other clubs this summer in a match-fixing scandal referred to in the Italian media as "Calcioscommesse" or "Scommessopoli", Atalanta were penalised after suspicions were raised around three of their fixtures in March. Each of their 1-1 draws at Ascoli and Padova were preceded by unusually high betting on that result, while punters had staked similarly heavily on more than two goals being scored in their home game against Piacenza. It finished 3-0 after Atalanta won a pair of first-half penalties.

In each case the authorities have uncovered wiretap recordings between bettors predicting such results, while the Ascoli defender Vittorio Micolucci claimed in his confession that Atalanta's Thomas Manfredini had approached him before their game suggesting a mutually beneficial draw. Atalanta, though, have argued that the evidence against them is circumstantial, saying it rests on claims made by third parties. They have registered an appeal with the court of arbitration for sport, as has their captain Cristiano Doni – banned for 3½ years over his alleged role.

Whatever the outcome of that appeal, few had predicted anything other than a long, hard slog for a club dealing with such turmoil. Doni, after all, is not only the club's captain but also their all-time leading scorer, his 12 goals last season taking him to 103 in just shy of 300 appearances for the club – not too shabby for a player who typically starts behind the attack.

Beyond the obvious impact of losing such a player on the pitch, observers might have expected the team to be weighed down by the atmosphere off it. Many of the club's supporters spent a greater part of the summer organising protests against the sanctions than they did looking forward to their return to the top division, but if anything this sense of injustice has helped to fuel a siege mentality among the players.

"Testa alta" (or, in the local dialect, "Crapa olta") – "head held high" – has been the mantra all summer and when Luca Cigarini hooked a delightful strike past Novara's Samir Ujkani on Sunday he made a point of using a hand to push his chin up to the sky. It was a direct imitation of the celebration that Doni has used ever since being cleared of any wrongdoing in a previous match-fixing investigation shortly after arriving for his first stint with Atalanta more than a decade ago.

The captain was invoked, too, by Atalanta's other goalscorer Ezequiel Schelotto. "I dedicate my goal to my parents and my brothers," said Schelotto, a summer signing from Cesena who opened his account for Atalanta with a header from close range. "But to be truthful my first strike is also for Cristiano Doni. The fans were calling his name and I am with them. He is too important for us."

Certainly it would be hard to overestimate Doni's importance to Atalanta's supporters, the player having achieved legendary status through 10 years of service in which he has both openly courted their affections while repeatedly baiting the club's rivals Brescia. Although he did desert them for a time – joining Sampdoria in 2003 before moving on to Mallorca in Spain – he returned declaring: "I have come to the conclusion that for me this is a truly special shirt," going on to liken it to the outfit that turned Clark Kent into Superman.

But while Doni's team-mates may feel similarly saddened by his absence, the truth is that on the pitch they are doing just fine without him. Although Novara had cause to feel hard done-by on Sunday after Pablo Granoche's stoppage-time strike was wrongly ruled out for offside, Atalanta came away having won three games in the space of eight days. The opposition may not always have been the most daunting (though Palermo and Novara each arrived fresh from wins over Internazionale) but no other team in Serie A has won as many games this season.

The manager Stefano Colantuono's 4-4-2 is more functional than thrilling, but with Schelotto providing pace and penetration out wide, and Cigarini developing at last into the sort of midfield orchestrator many had envisaged when he picked up his first Italy Under-21 cap back in 2005, there is nevertheless a vibrancy to the side. Schelotto's form has been such that the fans have already dedicated to him the exact song they used to sing about the former Argentina winger Claudio Caniggia: "Fly Schelotto/destroy Italy/and take us into Europe". It's catchier in Italian.

Schelotto, despite being born in Buenos Aires, would like to represent Italy, and though that may be a stretch at this stage, Italy is not blessed with many natural wingers. Elsewhere in the Atalanta midfield, Simone Padoin and Giacomo Bonaventura have also impressed. Up front Germán Denis, one of a number of players brought in by the former Udinese and Napoli director Pierpaolo Marino, has three goals already since joining on loan in the summer.

A title-winning ensemble they are not, a fact acknowledged by Colantuono as he reflected on what felt to him like a missed chance to be top of the league, saying: "Who knows when it will happen to me again?" But a side capable of overcoming significant hurdles to give themselves a good chance of staying in the division, they clearly are. They may even be good enough to challenge for a top-half finish. But it's probably safest not to bet on it.

Talking points

• 'But if Atalanta aren't top of the table, then who is?' I hear you cry. As you may have guessed from the fact that 10 points would have been enough to give Colantuono's team sole possession of first place, it hasn't been an especially fast start to the season for anybody. For now top spot is shared between Juventus and Udinese, each with eight points and a goal difference of +4 after those two drew away to Catania and Cagliari respectively. It was a disappointing performance from Juve, who in the end needed the help of a Mariano Andújar blunder to come away with a point, but Antonio Conte was philosophical. The new Juventus coach, after all, remains unbeaten in Serie A, and his is hardly the only side to have performed inconsistently.

• Before we get too far removed from Schelotto and the discussion of Italy's chronic deficiencies in the winger department, we should probably give a nod to Fiorentina's Alessio Cerci. The intermittently impressive wide man has finally managed to put together a string of strong performances at the start of this season and his efforts on the right against Napoli were enough to revive talk of a call-up to the national side. At 24 he is one of those players who seems to have been around forever but in reality still has time on his side. But given the Italy manager Cesare Prandelli has been doing just fine without wingers of late, you may not want to start holding your breath on that call-up just yet.

• A fine weekend for Michael Bradley, providing the assist for Sergio Pellissier's equaliser and setting things in motion for Davide Moscardelli's stoppage-time winner against Genoa – sending a perfectly judged long pass down the right flank that allowed Gennaro Sardo to cross for the forward to head home. It's been a mixed start for the American midfielder, but a few more passes like that will go a long way towards winning over the doubters in Verona.

• Claudio Ranieri took charge of his first game at Inter on Saturday and – what do you know? – his team came away with their first three points of the season. The Tinkerman couldn't have asked for a more generous first opponent than Bologna, and was quick in any case to deflect any credit on to the players, but if nothing else he may have vindicated the owner Massimo Moratti simply by giving Giampaolo Pazzini the chance to remind everyone what he can do when he actually gets to start a game.

• The champions Milan also picked up their first win of the season on Saturday with a 1-0 victory over Cesena. The injury sustained by Alexandre Pato against Udinese has done them no favours, leaving the squad dangerously thin up front for their Champions League game against Viktoria Plzen (with Filippo Inzaghi, lest we forget, unavailable for selection) and the trip to Juventus on Sunday. Massimiliano Allegri has admitted to growing concerns that there is a deeper underlying issue behind the Brazilian's constant injury concerns.